Archive - 2011 - News Article

November 19th

November 19, 2011

By

Russ Olivo

WOONSOCKET â€“ Before it can gain access to capital thatâ€™s needed to upgrade the wastewater treatment plant, the city must renegotiate antiquated pacts with neighboring communities that also use the facility, including two in Massachusetts, officials say.
The City Council recently gave Mayor Leo T. Fontaine the go-ahead to borrow the first $26 million for plant upgrades whose costs could top out at $40 million.

November 19, 2011

By

Russ Olivo

WOONSOCKET â€“ The rise of storefront churches in retail zones once dominated by the greengrocer and tailor isnâ€™t necessarily a trend greeted with the utmost reverence in a city struggling to save its traditional downtown for small business.
But the Rev. Al Berja of His Presence Church International was preaching to the choir when he asked the Zoning Board of Review for permission to put his church in an old cotton mill.
So far as anyone can tell, itâ€™s a first for Woonsocket â€“ and the Zoning Board likes it.

November 18th

November 18, 2011

PROVIDENCE â€” The General Assembly culminated an historic special fall session by overwhelmingly approving a radical overhaul of the public employee's pension system designed to save the state hundreds of millions of dollars over time and preserve the integrity of the pension funds going forward.

November 17th

November 17, 2011

By

Russ Olivo

WOONSOCKET â€” After a preliminary review of Landmark Medical Centerâ€™s application to merge with Steward Health Care System, state regulators have deemed the paperwork incomplete, but a Landmark spokesman dismissed the notion that the assessment means the merger is in jeopardy.
â€śItâ€™s not a bump,â€ť said Bill Fischer. â€śQuite frankly it was expected because if you look at history thereâ€™s no hospital conversion that Iâ€™m aware of thatâ€™s had an application deemed complete on the first pass.â€ť

November 17, 2011

By

Russ Olivo

WOONSOCKET â€” Luigi Porreca Jr. is not a magician, but he and his father are going to turn metal into food for the poor this year â€” again.
The proprietors of L&R Scrap Metal Co. are sponsoring the 2nd Annual Help Feed the Hungry for the Holidays event, which raised enough cash to provide about 500 dinners for the hungry last year.
â€śThis year we hope to make it a thousand,â€ť says Porreca.
But L&R needs your help â€” or at least your unwanted appliances â€” to make it happen.

November 16th

November 16, 2011

PROVIDENCE â€“ Demonstrating vigilance against what they fear might be â€śeleventh-hour, last minute shenanigansâ€ť pulled by the General Assembly on the pension reform legislation scheduled for a final vote on Thursday, three government watchdog groups held a Statehouse press conference to urge that the bill be passed in its current form.

November 14th

November 14, 2011

LINCOLN â€” Route 116 South, near the intersection to Blackstone Valley Place proved to be quite the scene on Monday morning.
Two elderly women had been traveling southbound at about 9:30 a.m. when a deer leaped in front of their 2002 Buick Century and crashed through its windshield and roof, ripping a massive hole. In the process, the animal struck a 75-year-old passenger from Central Falls, and the woman suffered injuries to her head and face, stated Police Capt. Raymond Bousquet.

November 13th

November 13, 2011

Norman Decelles, 5, of Wrentham, with his grandmother, Michelle Decelles, owner of the Coachmanâ€™s Lodge in Bellingham, presents a check for $200 to Terry McKenna, founder of Terryâ€™s Auto in Woonsocket, during the 16th annual Because He Lives fundraiser Sunday.

November 13, 2011

By

Joseph Fitzgerald

NORTH SMITHFIELD â€”The school department's hiring of a new food service provider, Aramark School Nutrition Services, has brought many changes to the school breakfast and lunch program, including a new menu with healthier food options and, as of this week, a new computerized money and meal count system to help ease the payment process for parents and students.

November 13, 2011

By

Joseph B. Nadeau

WOONSOCKET â€“ The John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor Commission marked its 25th anniversary by calling on its longtime volunteers and stalwart supporters to help the cultural heritage and natural resource district win designation as a National Historical Park.
The appeal came during a birthday celebration billed as a â€śRally for Valleyâ€ť held Thursday evening in the Providence & Worcester Railroad Station at Depot Square â€”one of the dozens of significant historic sites along the corridorâ€™s 40-mile route between Worcester, Mass. and Providence, R.I.